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The ruinsof the Aztec Empire.
525,600 minutes before the return of FNG.
“This is your grandmother’s house?”I asked as we descended the stairs into a dark cavern.
Gordo turned to me with a grin. “It’s more than just a house. It’s a maze.”
I grabbed him by the arm, sure he was punking me. “Hold on, a maze?”
“You’ll see.”
He walked to the end of a bookcase, stuffing the flashlight in his mouth as he grabbed the sides. “Gaaa a an.”
“What?”
He took the flashlight out of his mouth and pointed to the other end. “Grab that end.”
Following his direction, I grabbed the side of the bookcase and slid it away from the wall. I wasn’t expecting the hole in the wall or the torch just inside the narrow tunnel. He took the torch out of the metal hanger and flicked a lighter, illuminating the end of it. Flames shot up for a moment before dying down to a small flame.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked, shining the flame onto the wall.
“Wow,” I whispered, running my hand over the gold-encrusted walls. “This is amazing.”
“This is part of the original Aztec Empire. It runs underground for miles, but it’s cut off from the main temple. Nobody knows this is down here.”
I was so engrossed in what I was seeing that it took me a moment to understand what he was saying. “Then why me?”
“You are not hunting for treasure, but for answers. I trust you to carry on my family’s legacy, to let them live in your mind. You will not destroy my secret, will you?”
“No,” I answered immediately.
“The gold must be returned to the temple. It is the only way to restore what was once a great empire.”
“But your people are all gone. What good will it do? Others will plunder it for themselves.”
“Not if you return it to the Gods.”
I had no clue how to do that or why he was asking me. I was a nobody. The only friends I had thought I was dead. But he was so insistent. There had to be another reason.
“Why can’t you do it?”
“It is not my path. All of my ancestors have sought the gold, but we have all failed.”
“And you?”
“My time is coming to an end.” He paused for a moment, then his eyes met mine. “I want to show you something. You must promise that you will fulfill my wishes.”
“What do you mean? What’s going to happen?”
“Do I have your word?”
“Gordo—”
“I will not show you if you do not promise. This is very important to me, my last wish.”
I didn’t know what any of this was about or why he was so insistent on me fulfilling this dream. He didn’t even know me. How could he be sure I would do as he asked and not take the gold for myself? He saw something in me that maybe I didn’t see.
“Alright.”
